Patents have to do with product formulas, program algorithms, software design and unique business models. Trade mark protects business logos, trading names and trading slogans from being replicated by others without the express knowledge of the original owner. Copyrights relate to written works such as books or magazine and website articles. The demand for intellectual property protection in all three areas is what has led to an equal rise in the demand for intellectual property analyst jobs.
IT and the internet in particular has probably played the most significant role in this growing demand for the intellectual property analyst professional. As more businesses and services are handled from the internet, and as more information is shared over the internet, the need for protecting ideas, concepts, methodologies and formulas within and outside of the US grows. The software industry itself is probably the hardest hit by violation of intellectual property rights as individuals and institutions steal programming code from one another and end users go for cheap pirated copies of the application as opposed to the more expensive but original version. To give a clearer picture on the growing realization of the need to protect intellectual property, there are today over one million patents, trademarks and copyrights filed in the worldwide each year with the numbers on a steady rise. Intellectual property analyst jobs help to ensure industries and individuals can protect their hard earned ideas from malicious competitors.
But what does it take for one to apply for and be accepted for intellectual property analyst jobs? There are usually two paths-either academic training and hands on experience in the core business of the organization in question or a training in law with a bias on intellectual property as well as significant knowledge of the industry that the said organization falls in. Most intellectual property analyst job holders today hold a degree in law as well as one in a science or engineering discipline. In order to better understand the intellectual property needs of a particular organization or industry, it is always advisable that you work in the industry for at least two years in a technical capacity so that you can understand the key operational aspects of the industry.
Even though the protection of intellectual property is necessary in almost all industries, there are a number of industries that will usually have the highest number of intellectual property analyst positions. These industries are IT, telecommunications, energy (oil and gas) industries, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. These industries have the highest degree and speed of innovation hence the need to carefully safeguard each new idea. Of these, the IT sector has the highest number of intellectual property professionals working within the industry. The energy industry however is expected to overtake IT within the next 20 years in the number of IP professionals.
The intellectual property analyst helps prepare the documentation and file the patents, copyright and trade mark application on behalf of their organization. They also identify the products and ideas that the company should be demanding royalties for when used by a third party. When an intellectual property analyst is engaged by their organization, the first thing they must do is to try and understand the product or service. This is where persons that are already experts in the core business of the organization they work for would be in a better position to provide authoritative analysis and advice. A good understanding of the product reduces the risk of providing erroneous advice such as failure to file a patent when one was in fact needed. Before doing the actual filing, the intellectual property analyst must do sufficient groundwork to establish that a similar patent has never been filed before and that there is no obvious evidence of an identical product in the market. That way, they can make a quick call on a certain idea in good time instead of wasting time and resources on filing a patent or copyright application that will obviously be rejected.
- See Top 10 Reasons Most Law Firms Have No Idea How to Hire and Evaluate Patent Attorneys for more information.
